It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but the Tri-City Christian Academy Warriors had no problem doing just that on Thursday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 40-38 win over the Eagles. Given Tri-City Christian Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 31st, while Arrowhead Christian Academy is ranked 95th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tri-City Christian Academy was led to victory by Fulvio Dos Santos and Chris Carnes. Dos Santos almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds, while Carnes scored 16 points along with four steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Dos Santos has scored at least a third of Tri-City Christian Academy's points.
Despite the loss, Arrowhead Christian Academy still got an impressive performance from Cristian DeLaCruz, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 15 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Asa Shaw, who scored eight points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Arrowhead Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tri-City Christian Academy only pulled down ten offensive rebounds.
Tri-City Christian Academy's win was their 21st straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.6 points per game. As for Arrowhead Christian Academy, their loss ended a seven-game streak of away wins and brought them to 12-5.
Tri-City Christian Academy will square off against Skyline - Gila River at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Skyline - Gila River knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 18 contests -- so hopefully Tri-City Christian Academy likes a good challenge. Arrowhead Christian Academy does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
